ENHANCING ENERGY GENERATION FROM BIOMASS RESOURCES USING THE PYROLYSIS PROCESS ON ANIMAL MANURE

Abstract

In the U.S. and globally, the increase in energy demand and the high cost of fossil fuels have prompted the search for alternative ways to fulfill the energy demand. Biomass is the ultimate energy resource for fossil fuel independence, cost-effectiveness, and climate change mitigation. This paper presents a study of different biomass resources and the processes used to convert organic materials to clean, renewable energy in the most effective way possible. The paper focuses on the thermochemical process of pyrolysis that uses Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and the Differential Thermal Gravimetry device (DTG) from Shimadzu DTG-60AH. This process conducted in this study is based on the pyrolysis of horse manure, which is undertaken with eight different heating rates. It is found that the most efficient and feasible heating rates are the slower ones below 15°C per minute. Also, this study investigated a comparison between horse manure and other types of animal manure: chicken, cow, and sheep. Horse and sheep manure share similarities in thermal degradation temperatures. Chicken and cow manure also have similar temperatures for the threshold of thermal degradation and differ significantly from the thermal degradation threshold of horse and sheep manure.